Why do we hold good looks against the goodlooker? We look at Sridevi and say, “Liar, how can anyone be so beautiful…and so talented!”
Anything excessively easy on the eye, we presume to be shallow. I hope Adam Brooks’ The Life List won’t be judged harshly for its looks.
First things first: this is a really good-looking film. It is as if the primary criteria for casting were the actors’ looks—and, in one instance, the size of one part of the anatomy (no, not the nose).
Naughty innuendos, perky parties and strong repartees are the USPs of this luscious, delectable concoction about a young aimless but bright girl, her mother’s favourite, who finds herself laden with a strange legacy.
This is where the film gets somewhat wobbly: Mom (played with ravishing poignancy by Connie Britton) wants Alex (Sofia Carson) to tick off all the numbers on the wishlist Alex had prepared when she was 13.
I know. It sounds silly and juvenile. But here is what: the film makes you believe in its fairytale aura by taking us right inside the castle, so to speak. We see these beautiful people with all their flaws and fetishes.
The portrait of affluence as a curse in reverse is pitch-proper, if not perfect.
I did feel Cinderella’s stagecoach began to turn into a pumpkin as the story climbed towards the peak of the hillock. But the going is fun while it lasts.
Alex’s search for ‘True Love’ (whatever that might be) takes her through a gauntlet of temptations, all aesthetically staged. For a film that flirts fearlessly with fluffiness, the actors are strong. Alex’s two primary love interests, Brad (Kyle Allen) and Garrett (Sebastian de Souza), are redolently played, with each character contributing something substantial to Alex’s pursuit of what love could, if not should, be.
The play of light and sombre is effectively executed, with the characters, even the minor ones, coming across as highlights rather than shadowy passersby. To take an example, the character Nina (Maria Jung), who plays the potentially marginal role of Brad’s girlfriend, leaves a lasting impression. Then there is that sensibly written episode where Alex meets her biological father in a club… The beautiful awkwardness of that moment only accentuates the pervasive prettiness of lives that can buy happiness but don’t need to.
And yes, DVDs will never be obsolete again.
